Tech

Serena Williams, considered by many to be the greatest women’s tennis player ever, is also the GOAT on Twitter among female athletes. Williams was defeated by Ajla Tomlijanovic of Australia during their women’s singles third-round match Friday at the 2022 U.S. Open. The loss likely marks the end of Williams’ 27-year tennis career, as she

Tom Cruise’s blockbuster sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” has roared into the record books as the No. 1 best-selling digital sell-through title ever in the U.S. in its first week of release — at least, that’s according to Paramount Home Entertainment. The studio said “Top Gun: Maverick,” which was released on digital Aug. 23, 2022, also

Meghan Markle continued her reign atop Spotify’s podcast charts worldwide for the second week in a row, as the Duchess of Sussex’s “Archetypes” continues to attract a robust listenership. As of Friday, “Archetypes” ranked as the No. 1 podcast on Spotify in seven countries: the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, India, Australia, and New Zealand. It

Netflix is moving up the timeline for the debut of its cheaper, ad-supported plan to November — in order to get out before the Dec. 8 launch of the Disney+ tier with advertising. In July, Netflix told investors that it was targeting the launch of the ad-supported plan “around the early part of 2023.” But

Business boomed last year for OnlyFans, the social media site that has become an established home for creators selling sexually explicit content and engaging privately with followers. The U.K.-based company on Thursday announced financial results for the year ended Nov. 30, 2021. OnlyFans’ net revenue grew 160%, to $932 million, and the company had pre-tax

Disney confirmed that it’s considering launching a paid membership program that would provide exclusive discounts and benefits across its entire portfolio of products and services. Details on the company’s potential membership program are sparse — right now, the initiative is at the drawing-board stage. What exactly it ends up looking like remains TBD, including what

Twitter is finally about to give the world a look at its “Edit Tweet” function — which for years has been the No. 1 most-requested feature by users. The company said Edit Tweet is currently being tested by internal teams. Starting later in September, the test will expand initially to subscribers of Twitter Blue, its

Marion Cotillard will star as Coco Chanel in “Rencontre(s),” an immersive, interactive, and multi-sensorial project that whisks participants back to Paris of the Roaring Twenties. Making its world premiere as part of the Venice Film Festival’s recently rebranded Venice Immersive showcase for new-media projects, the pop-history experience mixes live elements with 2D animation and XR

After a grueling, hard-fought and ultimately victorious legal battle over streaming rates for the years 2018-22, the National Music Publishers’ Association, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and the Digital Media Association today have announced a settlement with streaming services for certain mechanical streaming rates in the U.S. for the years 2023-2027: 15.35%. The announcement comes

More than 10 years after its debut, the official music video for “We Are Young,” the chart-topping hit by Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe, has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. The milestone marks both artists’ first entry into YouTube’s Billion Views Club. The music video, directed by Marc Klasfeld, was shot at L.A.’s David Sukonick

Paramount is flexing a new bundle muscle: The company has combined Paramount+ and Showtime into a single, merged service — letting subscribers access content from both streamers in one place. It’s also offering promotional discounts on the Paramount+/Showtime bundle of up to 33% for the next month. Available starting Aug. 31, the new Paramount+ with

Naughty Dog has been one of PlayStation’s most prestigious developers, known for franchises like “Jak & Daxter” as well as “Uncharted.” However, Naughty Dog’s magnum opus is arguably 2013’s “The Last of Us” for the PlayStation 3, which blended cinematic action gameplay with incredible storytelling. Almost a decade later, Naughty Dog has remade the game

Snap announced that it was cutting 20% of its workforce in a bid to contain costs — eliminating nearly 1,300 positions — and that the company will discontinue funding original series. With the moves, Snap estimated it will save $500 million in cash expenses on an annualized basis relative to the second quarter of 2022.

Venice Production Bridge – Venice Gap-Financing Market  “Mirror” – Director: Wu De-Chuen“Mirror” is a story of three men from different generations of the same family. They live in different eras and have starkly different jobs —as an engraver, a tailor and a trader. But their lives are oddly similar. They share the same ambition to

Taiwan at Venice 2022 — Venice Immersive Competition “All That Remains” – Director: Craig Quintero Among the latest explorers in the VR realm is Riverbed Theatre, a “total theater” company that was formed in Taipei in 1998 and combines visual and performing arts. “All That Remains” is directed by the company’s artistic director Craig Quintero.

Taiwan’s ambition to impress has not dwindled despite its being the center of geopolitical struggle following Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit. The island is still generating large amounts of content on the technological cutting edge. It returns to the Venice Film Festival with a slate of productions ranging from the restored version of the late Edward

Smart phone usage is key to music listeners in parts of East Asia, but only a minority of users are committed subscribers to streaming services. That apparent contradiction may explain the rise of mini-subscriptions in the region. “Some 81% of music listeners in Malaysia use smartphones as their go-to music listening devices in a typical

Snap is reportedly getting ready to make a major round of layoffs, as Snapchat advertising sales have hit turbulence. The social messaging and media company is set to cut 20% of its workforce, with layoffs set to begin Wednesday, the Verge reported, citing anonymous sources. A Snap spokesperson declined to comment. As of the end

It’s the start of a new chapter for Samsung TV Plus, TV manufacturer’s free ad-supported TV (FAST) and video on-demand service — which is launching a new brand identity to highlight its latest content lineup and momentum in reaching viewers globally. Launched in 2015 as one of the first FAST services by a device manufacturer,

Trivia buff Tom Hanks is bringing one of his passions to life with “Hanx 101 Trivia” — a new game set to debut exclusively on the Apple Arcade subscription service. It’s the first game created by the Oscar-winning actor, producer and director, and the first trivia game coming to Apple Arcade. “Hanx 101 Trivia,” developed

UTA’s influencer management firm Digital Brand Architects has acquired golf marketing and digital talent management company Digital Golf Collective, Variety has learned exclusively. Founded by Jess McAlister and Sean Guerrero, DGC focuses on managing strategy and branding for leading creators, brands, events and tournaments in the golf industry. Under the acquisition, DGC’s individual digital talent and branding clients, including Tisha

Nearly two months ago, Elon Musk told Twitter he wanted to bail on his deal to buy the social network, based largely on his assertion that Twitter wasn’t disclosing the true scope of its spam and bot problem. Now Musk’s lawyers have cited allegations made by a former Twitter exec, whom the company fired this

It seems the feud between former “Newsnight” host Emily Maitlis and her former employer, the BBC, shows no signs of letting up. Less than a week after former Maitlis publicly excoriated the BBC during her MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the corporation has hastily rebooted its “Americast” podcast – which Maitlis first launched

Sony Music Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Triller, seeking millions of dollars in damages after the video-sharing app allegedly stopped paying licensing fees in March 2022. According to the suit, filed Monday in New York federal court, Triller continued to allow Sony Music songs to be shared on the app even after the music company

Robert Kyncl will exit YouTube in early 2023 after more than 12 years as a senior exec at video giant. He most recently served at YouTube’s chief business officer, helping to grow it into a multibillion-dollar powerhouse. Kyncl’s departure was announced in a memo Monday to YouTube staff by CEO Susan Wojcicki, a copy of

T-Mobile had offered Apple TV+ free for one year to unlimited wireless subscribers. Now it’s reupped the deal with Apple to offer all new and existing T-Mobile Magenta Max customers access to Apple TV+ for no additional cost — for as long at they hold the accounts. The added Apple TV+ perk for customers on

True crime is among the most popular podcast content categories — and now NBC’s “Dateline,” one of the genre’s OGs, is looking to cash in. On Monday, NBC is launching Dateline Premium, a new subscription on Apple Podcasts offering ad-free access to more than 400 hours of exclusive audio programming. The subscription costs $2.99 per

A decade into the streaming revolution, seams are showing and stitches are starting to pop. The recent uproar about HBO Max removing a significant number of series episodes and movies from its platform amounts to Unintended Consequence No. 9,789 for an industry that has been turned inside out by digital disruption. The situation that Warner

Netflix is looking at a price point as low as $7 per month for its forthcoming ad-supported streaming plan, set to bow in early 2023, according to a new report — less than half its standard two-stream HD package without advertising, which costs $15.49/month in the U.S. The streamer is considering pricing the ad plan

Famous misogynist Andrew Tate in the past week has been kicked off several major internet services, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, for violating their policies. In an interview on Fox Nation’s “Tucker Carlson Today” released Thursday, Tate claimed the tech platforms barred him for flaunting what he said were his “traditional masculine values.”